A New Jersey State Assemblyman on Thursday introduced a bold, cannabis-friendly bill that would legalize and regulate recreational marijuana in the Garden State.

The proposed law – A4193 - would legalize marijuana and “provide for records expungement” for certain past marijuana offenses. In addition, the bill would make it possible for New Jersey retailers to sell cannabis products similar to tobacco products, including at local convenience stores.

Provincial police say a Leamington raid and the arrest this week of a now-former Crime Stoppers president also yielded a marijuana seizure worth more than $3 million.

Windsor & Essex County Crime Stoppers called an emergency meeting and immediately ousted Jon-Paul Fuller after learning of his arrest. He also used to work for Aphria, a licensed medical marijuana producer in Leamington, but he was let go from that company more than two years ago.

Fuller, 44, is charged with production of marijuana and possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking. 

When searching for America's fastest-growing industries, chances are you'll find marijuana near, or at, the top. Cannabis research firm ArcView pegged legal sales of the drug at $5.4 billion in 2015 and believes the legal industry can grow organically by 30% per year through 2020. This would bring legal sales for the industry to nearly $22 billion if this estimate were to come to fruition.

Regional governments have been called out for not moving sooner to decriminalise the use of the popular contraband, marijuana.

Political analyst Peter Wickham said the governments of Caribbean countries will not legislate that personal use of the drug becomes legal, unless they would stand to gain politically.

“Ultimately, in politics you would want to win an election and certainly your ability to win an election makes you a lot useful in terms of driving issues. If you believe policy will reward you electorally, then you will pursue and if you believe policy will make you unpopular, then you would not want to pursue it,” Wickham said.

A Colorado mayor and law officer urged Arizona voters to oppose Proposition 205, citing making marijuana legal would threaten Arizonans’ safety.

More children are using drugs in Colorado since recreational marijuana was legalized four years before, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said at a news conference.

The mayor said that, “The problem with the leap to legalization is the message it sends to young people in terms of their perception of risk. That’s what’s caused the dramatic increase in youth use in Colorado.”

The Arizona’s Proposition 205 has been criticized by Suthers, police Sgt. Jim Gerhardt, two Arizona law-enforcement leaders and Thornton. The bill will allow the recreational use of marijuana within certain limits.

Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., is a mecca for joggers and families out with their strollers. Along with the smell of sweat and goose poop, weed is an equally present aroma.

Police seemingly take a "light up and let live" attitude here. But Nashanta Williams, who's out walking her dog, says it's not like this in other parts of the city.

"I have been pulled over and been told that my car smells like marijuana and put on the sidewalk and had my vehicle searched," Williams says. "And I felt like they were fishing."

In a presidential election featuring two candidates that have more haters than supporters, third-party candidates like Jill Stein of the Green Party and Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party have a unique opportunity to have their voices heard. More and more voters are having trouble supporting Republican Party candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton. And while Stein and Johnson have drastically different views on important issues like the environment and the economy, there’s one issue they appear to agree on: the legalization of marijuana. Whether seen as an issue of liberty or an issue of liberalism, both of the third-party candidates have favorable views on marijuana that both Clinton and Trump fail to recognize.

The battle over the Massachusetts ballot question that would legalize marijuana is attracting more than $100,000 from businesses that could stand to benefit from what could become a lucrative new market in the Bay State.

A vast majority of the more than $2.5 million in contributions to Yes on 4 has come from New Approach PAC, a nonprofit national political committee pushing for marijuana legalization nationwide — but at least $115,000 has been donated by existing businesses in the marijuana industry, according to a Herald review of campaign finance records.

4Front Ventures, a Boston-based consulting firm for dispensaries across the country, has donated $28,500 to Yes On 4 and its original committee, Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Massachusetts.

Nevada joins California, Arizona, Massachusetts and Arizona as one of five states voting this November on whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Here are things to know about Question 2:

HOW DOES IT WORK?

If the measure passes the statewide ballot in November, it would allow adults to legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana, or 1/8 ounce of concentrated marijuana, effective Jan. 1.

The measure directs the Nevada Department of Taxation to adopt regulations by the end of 2017 on details such as how to issue recreational marijuana business licenses, how to prevent the substance from getting to people under the age of 21 and how to test marijuana's potency.

A majority of Maine voters favor legalizing marijuana for recreational use, according to a new Portland Press Herald poll showing a groundswell of support among residents under age 50 and among those living in southern or coastal areas.

Roughly 53 percent of respondents in the newspaper’s statewide survey indicated they support a November ballot question that would add Maine to the growing list of states where marijuana is legal for adults. By comparison, 38 percent of participants opposed marijuana legalization – Question 1 on the November ballot – and 10 percent were undecided.